Body composition is the amount of fat versus lean muscle tissue
in the human body expressed as a percentage of a person’s
total weight. Body weight alone is not a clear indicator of
good health because it does not distinguish how much comes
from fat and lean body mass. Thus body composition can be
referred as the relative sizes of the four basic body compartments
that make up the total body: lean body mass, fat, water
and bone. The division of body composition into the fourcompartment
model is based on metabolic activity, energy
demand and comparative size. The body weight can be
defined as the sum of bone, muscle, organs, body fluids and
adipose tissue. Some or all of these components are subject
to normal change as a reflection of growth, reproductive status,
variation in exercise levels and effects of aging. It has been argued that water, which makes up 60% to 65% of the body
weight is the most variable component, because ones
state of hydration can induce fluctuations of several pounds.
Muscle and skeletal mass adjust to some extent to support
the changing burden of adipose tissue. However, true weight
loss and excessive weight gain are associated primarily with a
change in the size of the fat depots. Both cross-sectional
and longitudinal studies have shown that with advancing age
people tend to become more obese -their amount of visceral
fat tends to increase and their skeletal muscle mass declines. There seems to be some correlation between one body
weight and body fat composition.
This was a cross-sectional study and constituted 108 males
(54%) and 92 females (46%) adults between 30 to 60 years.
WHO Step-wise questionnaires were used to gather all
data. This took into account the background of respondents
which included occupation, ethnicity and income level. The
lifestyle variables also included physical activities with corresponding
duration for a particular activity. The subjects composed
of males and females without any observable medical
or surgical disorders in a suburb of Greater Accra Region in
Ghana. Parameters indicating body weight and body fat composition
and their correlation were determined. Hence, the
main thrust of this research was to find out the strength of
correlation between body weight and body fat composition
in adults from the ages 30 to 60 years. The study was conducted
in a densely populated suburb of Accra the capital city
of Ghana.
Weight was determined using standard weighing scale ensuring
that subjects were in minimal clothing. The respondents
were prompted to stand upright with their heads in an erect
position and the barefoot on the foot pads of the scale. Readings
were recorded to the nearest 1kg. Height measurement
was taken using microtoise where the subject stood upright
with their arms at their sides, feet together and with the
maximum occipital prominence of the head, their shoulders,
calves, heels and the buttocks touching the vertical wall. The
head was steadied such that the Frankfort plane (the lower
border of the orbit of the eye aligned horizontally with the
external auditory meatus of the ear) was perpendicular to
the vertical wall. The measurement was then taken from the
crown of the head to the heel of the feet. Measurements
were recorded to the nearest 0.1cm. Measurements of body
weights and heights of respondents were used in calculating
the BMI= kg / m2
.
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